Fantasy Fallout: Brandon Lloyd Traded To St. Louis

By now we’ve all heard about the trade that sent Brandon Lloyd to the St. Louis Rams for a conditional draft pick. It’s also pretty obvious that Lloyd is not the only player whose value is affected by the deal. Let’s take a look at all the fallout from today’s deal:

Brandon Lloyd – Wide ReceiverHe is reunited with Josh McDaniels, who is the offensive coordinator for the Rams (and the former head coach in Denver). With McDaniels calling the shots Lloyd enjoyed his breakout year in 2010 as he went off for 77 receptions, 1,448 yards and 11 TD.

He also benefits from getting away from John Fox’s run first offense and a quarterback who brings significant risk (and potential inaccuracy) in Tim Tebow. It’s not that Sam Bradford has been very good this season, but he also has had limited talent around him to work with. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Lloyd return to being a must use option in all formats.Fantasy Fallout – Significant Improvement

Sam Bradford – QuarterbackThrough five games he has just 1,170 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT. That’s what happens when your receiving corps has been ravaged by injuries and inconsistency. No Rams’ receiver had more than 17 receptions, 287 yards or 1 TD early on. The major offseason acquisition, Mike Sims-Walker, was a complete bust with just 11 receptions and 139 yards. It was so bad, he actually was a healthy scratch in Week 6 (and has since been released). Is the addition of Lloyd going to change things overnight for Bradford? Probably not (especially as he deals with an ankle injury), but in the long run this is a move the team had to make to help in Bradford’s development.Fantasy Fallout – Improvement

Eric Decker – Wide ReceiverHe has proven he can be productive in the Broncos’ offensive system, with 22 receptions for 266 yards and 4 TD (despite doing absolutely nothing in Week 5 as he had two receptions for negative four yards). I wouldn’t push him up the rankings significantly now that he is the team’s top receiver, especially with the potential struggles of Tebow. However, he could provide a much needed safety valve and help in the short passing game. There’s increased value and he is well worth owning, but there is still a lot of concern and he shouldn’t be penciled in as a must start option.Fantasy Fallout – Improvement

Tim Tebow – QuarterbackThe loss of your top receiver is obviously going to hurt. There’s no arguing that, but the Broncos offense is going to be built around the run and Tebow could struggle with his consistency in throwing the football. However, the bulk of his value was always going to come from his legs and ability to rack up touchdowns. Nothing about today’s trade changes that.Fantasy Fallout – Steady (as a low-end option)

Eddie Royal/Demaryius Thomas – Wide ReceiverSomeone now needs to step up and fill the #2 receivers role in Denver. Whoever it is will have potential minimal fantasy appeal, but only time will tell who emerges.Fantasy Fallout – Incomplete

Danario Alexander/Brandon GibsonThey struggled before Lloyd arrived, so why would anything actually change because of it. Sure, Lloyd will help to open things up, but don’t look for them to actually emerge as viable fantasy options.Fantasy Fallout – Who cares, but they stay steady

What are your thoughts on the deal? Whose value improves? Whose diminishes?